Governance, safety and quality: Staff Specialist Interview Questions Australia
Clinical governance is a criterion in most position descriptions and panels ask for your understanding, an incident you were involved in, an audit or QI project, and open disclosure. They test candour and learning.
Updated 26 October 2026
How to answer
Define governance in your own words and name your part in it. For the incident, describe your role, how it was reported, what the review found, the open disclosure conversation and what changed. For QI, give the measure and the result and whether it lasted.
Frameworks: STAR for incidents and projects
- STAR Situation in a sentence, Task: what you had to do, Action: what you did in the first person, Result: the outcome with a number where there is one. Add Reflection for STARR. Full guide →
Tell us about an adverse event or incident you were involved in, how it was reported, and what came of it.
Describe the event, your part, how it was reported, what the review found, the open disclosure conversation, and what changed. Say how the staff were supported. The question tests candour and learning, not whether you were blameless.
Tell us about an audit or quality improvement project you completed, and what changed as a result.
- Follow-up: How did you measure the change?
The problem, the measure, what you changed, the result and whether it lasted. Say who else was involved and what you would do differently. Numbers make this answer.
What is your understanding of clinical governance?
Define it in your own words, name its parts (reporting, review, audit, peer review, credentialing, open disclosure, accreditation) and say what the consultant's responsibility is for each. One example where you did it.
Describe a time you raised a patient safety concern. What happened?
What you saw, who you told, what happened and what you did if nothing happened. Panels want to hear that you escalate and persist, not that the system always worked.
How would you contribute to morbidity and mortality meetings and peer review in the department?
Present your own cases, chair meetings when asked, make them about learning rather than blame, and track whether actions are done. Mention one change that came out of a meeting you were part of.
What is open disclosure, and have you been part of it?
Define it accurately: an open discussion with the patient and family about an adverse event, including an apology and what will be done. Then one real example and what you learned about doing it well.
How do you monitor your own outcomes and performance?
Name the measures you actually look at, how you get them, and what you do when they drift. Mention peer review, complaints, feedback and any registry data for your specialty.